//------------------------------//
// Prelude 
// Story: Slayer 
// by The card holder 
//------------------------------//

"Hey, Twilight, I'm gonna go grab some food, want anything?"

"No thanks, Starlight, I'm busy right now."

"Alright, suit yourself."

Once she was alone, Twilight let out a small sigh. Truth was, she would have loved to take a break and get a bite to eat, but her stubborn nature refused to back down just yet. The pile of books in front of her, both stacked on her desk and floating in her magic, was an obvious sign of that.

Her goal was somewhat farfetched, but at the same time one would be hard pressed to find fault with it. She had noticed that many of the beings that threatened Equestria, from Nightmare Moon to Tirek, had some amount of historical records about them, be they through proper research and evidence or legends passed down for generations.

To that end, she decided to be proactive, and start documenting any and all legends that could theoretically threaten the livelihood of ponykind at some point in the future. It was a difficult task, due in large part to the sheer number of times certain legends were mentioned across various sources, often with conflicting or extra details scattered here and there. Still, Twilight felt that if anypony could pull off such a task, it could be her.

Regardless, even if it was ultimately for the good of Equestria, spending this much time bending over books was murder on her spine.

Leaning back, Twilight straightened out her back and neck with a few audible cracks, and she took the time to survey her current progress. More than a few dozen books, condensed down into "only" a fifteen foot scroll. It helped that a majority of the legends she found were either no threat at all, or were already decidedly dealt with.

"Alright, just one more, then a break," Twilight muttered to herself, diving right back in to start scanning more pages. As luck would have it, however, she didn't have to look for long before a particular passage caught her eye.



After the defeat of Discord, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were tasked with rebuilding a broken Equestria. However, this was not easy for them, as they soon had to quell a minor invasion from Tartarus, including The Slayer, a truly fearsome and brutal foe.



The book went on to explain the details of how Celestia and Luna helped Equestria recover from Discord's reign, but Twilight kept reading the previous sentence over and over. She already knew about the Tartarus invasion, even if it was always overshadowed greatly by Discord in history books. Instead, it was the specific mention of "The Slayer" that was new to her.

Scanning through the rest of the book showed no other use of the phrase. There was only that single sentence, but she had a feeling there was much more to it than that.

Wanting direct answers, Twilight levitated over a blank parchment and started writing a letter. Once she was done, she immediately set out to find Spike.



Celestia did everything in her power to suppress a yawn, just barely managing to hold it in until the latest noble left the throne room. Countless years of running day court, and she still found it incredibly dull.

While she took the time to appreciate the brief break, a familiar pop sounded next to her, and she caught the resulting scroll in her magic effortlessly. Surely Twilight had something more interesting to tell her about.



Celestia,

Sorry for the sudden letter, but I have a few (non-urgent) questions to ask. I was looking through some old legends, to try and get a head start on whoever might threaten Equestria next, and I found something that didn't seem to appear anywhere else, and was only mentioned in passing.

I suppose I'll get right to the point. Do you happen to know anything about something called "The Slayer"? I saw it mentioned in a history book right after you and Luna defeated Discord, but it didn't give any detail beyond the fact that they were apparently related to Tartarus in some way.

Feel free to respond whenever you find the time, like I said, this isn't urgent.

Thanks,
Twilight Sparkle



Once she reached the end of the letter, Celestia let out a sigh. She knew it was only a matter of time before Twilight decided to do something like this, but she'd be lying to herself if she said she wasn't at least a little proud of her former student.

After telling a guard near her that day court was going to end early for the day, she teleported to her chambers and immediately started writing out a reply.



Twilight,

I apologize for how sudden this is, but could you please come to Canterlot as soon as you are able? There is much I would like to discuss with you on this subject.

Celestia





Just half an hour later, Celestia was leaving her room right as an exhausted-Twilight Sparkle ran towards her, coming to a panting halt. A nearby maid offered her a glass of water, which she accepted instantly and gulped down.

Once she had regained her composure, she spoke to Celestia. "I came as quickly as I could. Had to fly most of the way here."

Celestia couldn't hide the small smirk on her face. She almost forgot that Twilight was like this. "I'm sorry, Twilight, I made this visit sound more vital than it really was."

Twilight tilted her head. "So what did you call me here for?"

"It is still very important, and I had a feeling we would be in this position someday." She turned around and started walking. "Come, I have much to show you."

Confused, Twilight fell in step behind her. The trip passed in silence, and after winding through a few hallways of the castle, they came to a familiar room.

"The Elements?" Twilight asked as Celestia walked up to the door. "But they were absorbed by the Tree of Harmony, remember?"

Celestia chuckled. "This door led to more than just the Elements, you know."

Just like before, Celestia stuck her horn into the door, causing it to swing open. As Twilight expected, it was empty.

However, Celestia simply walked inside and inserted her horn into the far wall, which also opened up, revealing a rather large elevator. Twilight was taken aback by this.

"P- Princess Celestia...?"

"Let's go, Twilight. There's something I want to show you."



The elevator went down once they were both on board, and the trip felt like an eternity. Twilight tried to figure out how far down into the mountain they were going, but eventually the scenery made her lose track.

The rock wall on all sides of the elevator suddenly opened up, revealing large, well-lit caverns. In these caverns, ponies in lab coats constantly bustled around, going from desks to tables containing all manner of strange objects. There were a few guards posted here and there, but their armor looked a lot more heavy-duty than the normal Solar and Lunar guard.

Seeing Twilight's awestruck expression, Celestia started to explain. "Long ago, not too long after defeating Discord, myself and Luna came to much the same realization as you, Twilight. For some reason, many of the threats we faced had some sort of legend behind them. So, we both created a private group of scholars tasked with searching for exactly these sorts of legends."

The elevator came to a halt at the bottom of a massive atrium, and Celestia exited, still talking. "As years went on, and more and more legendary items and beings were tracked down, I took the liberty to, shall we say, increase the scale."

One of the scientists, a unicorn who had a gold star on the shoulder of her lab coat, approached the two. "Ah, Princess Celestia. Here for another checkup? We haven't really made any progress since you last came down here."

"Actually, I was hoping to show my former student these facilities," Celestia said, gesturing a wing towards Twilight, who still couldn't stop looking around like a filly in a candy shop. "Twilight, meet Observable Aegis, she is in charge of these labs while I'm gone."

"Pleasure to meet you," she said, offering a hoof.

Twilight slowly took Aegis's hoof, giving a slow shake. "N- Nice to meet you too, Aegis."

"I guess Celestia already gave you the rundown of what we do here?" Aegis asked, already leading the two deeper into the facility.

"I've already caught her up to speed," Celestia confirmed. "Although, I wanted to show her something specific, first."

"Oh? Like what?"

Celestia leaned in a bit closer. "Could you show her to The Slayer's room?"

Aegis's fur stood on end, but only for a brief moment. "W- Why that?"

"She found a mention of him in a history book, and was curious."

Twilight came closer to the two, eyes darting back and forth, her voice equally low. "You mean The Slayer is here?"

Celestia nodded.

"Well, can't say no to the boss," Aegis said. "Right this way, then."

Twilight found it very tempting to slip away from the two and simply look at many other parts of the labs, and to see what was behind many of the closed doors they walked by, but the growing knot in her stomach kept her on track. This was all mindblowing to her so far, but why did she feel this nervous? Obviously, if The Slayer was here, then it would no longer be a threat.

Right?

Eventually, they arrived at a particularly large door, which seemed to have more guards than usual stationed around it. After Aegis spoke with one of them, they motioned to another guard in a nearby booth, who pulled a couple switches, causing the door to slide open.

The chamber inside was somewhat large, for what it contained. At the far end, illuminated by a number of spotlights, was a statue of a bipedal creature. It looked like it was wearing some form of armor, and was carrying some sort of double-barreled weapon in one claw, pointed at the ground. The other was pointing outward, and for a split second Twilight felt as if it was reaching out for her.

The chills didn't stop upon entering the room, either. If anything, they were only stronger now.

"Well, Twilight," Aegis said, "meet The Slayer."